Jun 11 2011:
The act of deleting comments, you do not "like", is undemocratic, manipulative, limiting, etc.

Many may not agree with certain positions especially about delicate, taboo, controversial subjects presented on TED or expressed in comments by some users. It is very annoying and wrong tendency to delete comments when you in TED do not share or like them.

The voice of the "minority" or the "unorthodox thinkers" has to be heard also if TED is to be believed to uphold the values it promotes.

Here is my proposal for TED:
DO NOT DELETE COMMENTS!!
INSTEAD REPLACE THEM WITH A LINK. You might be surprised how many people would click on those links and would want to read those "condemned" comments or have something to say about them.

"Idea WORTH spreading"??? It seems you in TED have a tight grip on what to be considered "worthy" of spreading. Why not let the people say what they really think about the ideas you present? Moderate what appears but do not Delete - let the people have the means to read, reply to, rank the "condemned" comments.

Jun 12 2011:
I totally disagree! There are a lot of F*****-** things that people say that are not worthy of sharing. Now, you might be under the impression that the opinion you have is the correct one and what you are saying is "the truth" but that, George, is very unlikely!

I was the recipient of just such attacks here in a TED conversation and it was more than offensive - it was hurtful.
TED can be faulted for being big brother, but when it comes to personal attacks, what would you propose TED do?

We need a balance.
I absolutely value Tim and his contribution and it is strange that he is the one who ends up in this confrontation for I have never seen him treat anyone without consumate respect and all of his comments are on point and often deeply insightful as well. The problem is that does not apply to everyone.
When my comments have been removed- they deserved to be in most cases.

I am surprised that TED did not leave Tim's thread alone as it was a happy little cul de sac for people - it was tactically a poor manoever but TED has to have the right to prevent threads from dissolving into chaos.

Jun 15 2011:
Can we request that there be a review of the terms and agreement policy and that we, the users, have input? I really do think the process would benefit from a more formal review. For our part, if as a group we formulated new guidelines we think would be more fair for removal of a comment?
It may not satisfy everyone's every wish, but it likely will result in something better than what we are tied to now.

5.TED is seeking to foster a grown-up conversation about ideas that matter. When conversing with other members, engage in a reasoned exchange of ideas -- avoiding flaming, name-calling, obscenities and insults.

Jun 18 2011:
TED is not about free speech. It's about spreading ideas "they" agree on. We should be aware of it, accept it, or refrain from posting. I do enjoy some of TED's contents but I do not share the "pedestal" statues some users seem to have given to the brand name. When you look at the speakers, it is quiet clear the direction TED is moving forward to, and it ain't free-speech. Some speakers are in fact invited for their notoriety rather than for the content of their speech. It's a shame that in many cases, the speakers are people that have more than one platform to express their ideas/interests to the masses. TED should allow more "out of the dark" speakers, and focus more on the life's experience of the speaker rather than on their academical bureaucracy or the amount of books they have published; or even worst, their celebrity statues.

Jun 15 2011:
Hi all -- the purpose of TED Conversations is to provide a deeper and wider discussion amongst the TED community, to hear voices and meet people that you otherwise wouldn't have interacted with; there is no 'interests' that are being served. The Admins don't have an agenda they are serving besides doing their best to host engaging and productive conversations.

Every single comment doesn't need to be perfectly on topic, but if you want an example for the reasoning behind comment removal, take a look at this very sub-thread within the suggestions thread. It has grown with many topics that I myself might consider off-topic to a point that suggestions for TED.com are being pushed down 'below the fold' and those users aren't getting their voices heard. In my opinion, off-topic comments and sub-threads provide a barrier to the original poster's discussion and have the potential to derail entire conversations.

Jun 15 2011:
Really?! It's re-assuring to hear that coming from you... the attack on me felt more outrageous and sinister than comical. But if it were to happen again I suppose my skin is thicker now. It happened while I was rather new to the TED conversations and I was frozen by it because I think of TED as being a place were that kind of behavior is non-existent. But now I know it's not...

But I don't think this is about what we get in terms of hateful, slanderous personal emails. We have protection against that if we want. We can protect our privacy as many do in this forum.

What I think this is about is what the limits are to free speech in this public forum. Are there any??? I totally agree that TED needs to take a hard look at their rationale for removing comments and take what so many of us are calling for seriously. It is in the spirit of what is best about TED to do so.

There's a music artist I enjoy that I think is a genuine musical genius and from time to time I find something on youtube by him and his band. The comments left are often supportive, but it's not unusual for ignorant, vicious people to spew their racist, bigoted, hate-filled venomous beliefs as well. My point is that’s apparently ok to a large degree on youtube – although there are times when the entire comment stream has been disabled and I assume that the speech got too far out of hand even that forum.

But this is TED. I have been following this conversation closely enough to know that I may have to re-adjust my understanding of what TED conversations are and are not, but for now at least I see this forum as something of a safe-haven from that very small element of people that are so common across the internet... Is removing that type of comment so bad? Doesn’t removing that type of comment re-confirm who we are as a group?? A diverse group, but a respectful group as well.

Btw, I'm always up for a good argument (Kristian, we have one going right now and your not playing fair). It's half the reason why I enjoy TED conversations.

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TED Conversations is not just another bulletin board. Here admins must delete comments to maintain the standard and most importantly the mere goal of this online conversation project.
And in the conversations terms there are few adjectives repeated: mature, constructive, civil, relevant
So, anything that does not comply with these adjectives should be removed.

And radical openness in discussions never leads to anything constructive, even in your everyday meetings, you may try, it always leads to chaos and talking in vain for hours.

Jun 13 2011:
I disagree with Birdia. Personally, I wouldn't use the flag feature if my name was showing up next to the flag. Besides, flagging a post doesn't automatically mean it will be deleted, just that the staff will look into it. A certain degree of anonymity is necessary to protect those who report abuse. I also can't quite imagine a mature community like the TED community would abuse the flag system. Don't tell me I'm wrong! :)

Jun 13 2011:
I like the system the way it is, it allows me to express what I like without having to explain myself why I like a controversial comment or why in one talk I agree with x and in another talk, I disagree with a similar opinion (I'm not talking about flagging it). I like the fact that I can raise my thumb for a comment which I find inspiring. I don't care much about my credit, but I like being identified as a translator. It motivates me to think twice about what I write.

You can't quite imagine a mature community like the TED community would abuse the flag system but what about imagining a mature community like the TED community would abuse the terms? If you can imagine that then perhaps you could imagine the latter also.

Jun 16 2011:
I agree the red flags should appear in the conversation..maybe even with a counter so the commenter knows how many have taken issue.

Since Red flags are invisible at the moment we can't know which are pending PED review. So as far as I know we have no knowlledge on the pattern of use of red flags.

We only get to see the outcome , a notice "this post was removed by admin".

In the few conversations I have been involved in I have never once seen a comment removed by admin that was simply an opposing view point. That is simply not a a truthful portrayal, Birdia, of what I have seen.
In every case it has been about removing inapparopriate comments by members that breech the terms of use agreement. In one conversation sveral members got into a bitter relentless personal harangue with one another right in the middle of a conversation on transforamtive expetreiences, of all things. The moderator repeatedly asked them to stop. They continued really ruining the whole conversation. By the time admin removed all the posts it was too late.the entire conversation was ruined. That was the most dramatic one I have witnessed. Same people involved in all the others i have seen. Same issues..

I have not personally ever ever ever seen deletion of a comment that is simply expressing a different opinion. That is simpy not a true statement from my observations.

Jun 16 2011:
I think the flags should be visible and that there should be a counter so the commenter has a sense of how a comment is received by the community

.I am all for transparency. I think TED's guidance to "abusers" should appear publicly right in the context of the conversation. That way we would all learn. And that would certainly curb these tedenciesand self correct our community..

.Didn't there used to be at thumbs down? Maybe that should be bright back?

In another conversation I just saw three thumbs up on a comment that suggested that the appropriate response to a statement that "The holocause was a lie" is to present videos and documentation that holocaust did actuially happen if you disagree.

Is red flagging a statement that " the holocaustis a lie" suppressing opinion? censorhip?

I think not.

In some parts of the world that is actually a crime. All over the wolrd in civilized and intelligent compamy that kind of thing just isn't said

There are myths being spread here about censorship and repression and manipulation that really don't tell the underlying story. These are just the wounded little boys and girls who through rocks through the window and then wailed when they were caught.

Why not have TED Community vote each month on an idea / talk they like best and offer a crowd-funding for this idea. If 5.000 persons vote to have an idea realized and each person is giving 50 Dollars - a lot can be done.

TED FUTURE could be more than ideas, it could be a community for change - for action. Then TED has the potential to be an even more influential international avantgarde which is socially interactive. It transforms ideas in some cases to reality - and in many societys you need just a little help for a first mover to start a movement for change.

Jun 12 2011:
I really like the crowdfunding idea. It already works for projects such as Philantropher where every day, a new non-profit is introduced and people can decide to fund it with $1 (it's just $1 so you can give $1 for the next project on the next day as well - which I think is a great idea). Kickstarter has a similar approach (however without the vote system): every project has its own page, people can decide to "follow" projects and the initiator can post updates on the page to inform about the progress he has made. I think this would be a great experiment, especially for projects like building schools or improving healthcare.

May 11 2011:
I don't know if its already been suggested, but just in case how about a TED follow up. Y'all bring in some amazing speakers that talk about cutting edge stuff or fantastic design, etc. and then Poof. I never hear about it again. I want updates! I want to be able to keep tabs on progress or failure!

May 11 2011:
Hi Meher -- I know what you mean! One of the first talks I saw was the demo of Sixth Sense technology, I would love to get updates on the research and progress. What form do you picture this taking?

May 11 2011:
+1 Updates would be great. Maybe speakers should be allowed to edit the "About this talk" sidebar with useful links and news. A more social approach would be to ask the viewers to find updates and related content and edit the "About this talk" like a wiki.

May 12 2011:
The sixth sense tech was exactly what i had in mind when i posted this. Pranav Mistry demonstrated the amazing tech, and made some great claims about cost and what not, and alluded to the the simplicity of the design. He suggested making it sort of open source, well, now i want my blueprints and programs!

what I had in mind was allowing speakers to maybe do follow-up talks, not necessarily on the big stage, but self made sort of things. They could do audio recording, or audio visual or downloadable or broadcast-able presentations or something that could be linked to the speeches they give so we can watch the progress and development and also so they can reach out to the TED community for support if they hit road blocks.

or you can set up like micro TEDS, little studios where the presenters could just come and present updates to small audiences or no audience at all, the use of TED facilities would just be so that the follow-ups have consistency in audio visual production. but all follow-ups should be directly linked to the original talk, I want to see flow, hear about the hold ups and success, I want the process of development to be more transparent so that the world can see how stuff gets done! (or not done)

May 15 2011:
The Speaker pages already have an 'On the web' section for links - example http://www.ted.com/speakers/pranav_mistry.html - and I would generally include Wikipedia and Worldcat id links, for speaker and/or topic. The point is, don't replicate something already being done elsewhere. If there's a excellent bibliography on a person or topic, link to that rather than to each link individually.

May 19 2011:
I totally agree that there should be a better more organized follow-up feature. I mean, it's not just about listening to talks...it's about creating action, right?

It would be nice to have on the actual talk video page a follow-up section if there are any video follow-ups. Or even a progress bar or a section for the original speaker to update on the talk. It's definitely nice to know if the idea is still in forward motion. If not, what we can do to help.

Jun 8 2011:
I think that requiring organizers of TEDx events with more than 100 attendees to attend a TED conference is very limiting. I understand that it is of great importance to ensure the quality of TEDx events but I believe you could think of some alternatives that do not require spending $6000 (which is a great deal of money in most places in the world) and traveling around the globe.

Jun 15 2011:
Hi Dana -- For a more detailed response to this I would recommend reaching out to the TEDx team (contact info is available in the ted.com/tedx sub-page), but my understanding of that rule is to ensure that the larger events reflect the 'feel' of a TED conference. The TEDx program gives out the TED name at no cost to organizers all over the world, but my understanding is there has to be some limitations along the way to ensure the overall quality of the events.

Apr 30 2011:
It may exist already, but I can't find it... I would like the option of CHANGING the dates for a conversation / debate. I think it would be neat to extend / reduce the dates depending on how things are going. I have a talk that I feel has run its course and would liek to close early. As I can't, I feel that I need to keep reading it so that I don't appear rude and miss questions being asked.

Also, a Collapse option. There can be a lot of comments to scroll down and if each comemnt was collapsed, with just the posting name and date/time, it would be much easier to oprn up the recent comments.

May 21 2011:
Thanks for the opportunity to make suggestions. I discovered TED about a year ago and typically watch TED Talks while eating breakfast and dinner.

My suggestion is to turn down the volume of the introduction to each talk The sound is so loud that after listening to one talk at a comfortable level I have to adjust the volume down when starting another talk, otherwise the intro blows me out of the room. Could these intros be adjusted to a lower level so they would match the listening level of the pieces they are introducing. I understand the producer of this piece meant it to be very dramatic and it is but it is also inconvenient to be constantly adjusting my volume.

May 23 2011:
Can you add the sound track to an audio program like adobe audition and just adjust the volume level of the intros? Then re-import it into the video track. This is how I would go about it, also how I am willing to assist.

May 1 2011:
Why TED Talks must be in English? I think nothing happens if the English-Speaking Peoples watch the talks with subtitles as it has always been possible for the rest of the world. Further there are a lot of amazing people out there with brilliant ideas who have not been able to spreading only because of non-English speaking.

May 1 2011:
Hi Ana Maria! I would love to see TED talks in other languages with subtitles but I recognize that most of us who speak English as a first language are not able to speak other language and that probably applies to the TED hierarchy. They are responsible for the content of the talks and they may be wrestling with how to vett such talks when they do not really know what they say. The other problem is that there is no mechanism for the very best nonEnglish speaking thinkers do not have direct access to the TED decision makers one on one.
I sure hope that something will develop to permit talks from other languages because I think we will all be enriched!

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May 14 2011:
Jaime, You are doing just fine. Your points are understandable and you should remember that most of us cannot even speak a few words of another language. The least we can to is the small work of adjusting the words of a non- native English speaker!

May 2 2011:
Hey Ana -- The language of the conference itself is English (which is why all of the TED Conference talks are), but many of our TEDx events around the world feature other languages. As you can imagine we view a lot of talks and curating/translating additional languages adds a level of difficulty. That being said, stay tuned :-)

May 4 2011:
I think it should be much more enriching to have conferences in all other languages with subtitles, at least, in English. This would enable us to reach many more fascinating ideas as well as peen in different cultural narratives that are limited by language constraints.

I just think it should be possible for those non-English TED conference organizers to find someone for a quick English translations....

May 4 2011:
Or we could just do it. I don't see any reason why TED translators shouldn't be able to write English subtitles for Talks in their native languages. That said, the subtitles in the native languages would have to be written first, but that can't be so hard either. Will, if you're one day betatesting this feature, count me in :)